Needle-picker for circular-knitting machines.



H. A. HOUSEMAN.

NEEDLE PICKER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1915 Patented June 6, 1916.

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AITOEWEX UNITED STATES PATENT onricn HARRY A. HOUSEMAN, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO- STANDARD MACHINE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

NEEDLE-PICKER FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING- MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 14, 1915. Serial No. 50,555.

To all w ham it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY A. HOUSEMAN,

scription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines, and particularly to mechanism for lifting out of action and depressing into action certain needles, one or two at each oscillation of the machine, as in the operation of narrowing and widening during the knitting of the heel and toe of a stocking. Such machines comprise a needle cylinder and a cam cylinder, one of which is alternately continuously rotated and oscillated, while the other is stationary, the cam cylinder carrying cams which act upon the needles to effect the knitting operation. In such machines it is old to provide mechanism, mounted in a fixed position relative to the regular knitting cams, which, during oscillation, acts to lift the needles out of action, one at a time and then to depress the needles into action one at a time.

The object of my invention is to provide mechanism, adapted to act as a lifter or as a depressor, which will operate with certainty and accuracy to lift or depress the needles to a uniform level, and which will not injure the needles or be injured by them,

in the event that any of the needles are improperly positioned to be operated as desired.

The invention also has for its object to provide a double-acting picker-that is, a picker which will act upon the needles to lift (or depress) them whether the needle cylinder be turning in one direction or the other.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the picker and a portion of the needle cylinder in section. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the'picker. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 1; v

The needles aare represented as mounted in the cylinder 6, and are actuated by the regular knitting cams (not shown) fixed relatively to the base 0, to which are secured the pickers, one only of which is shown. For the purpose of describing the operation of the-invention, I will assume that the needle cylinder is the rotatable and oscillatory element and that the regular knitting cams and pickers are the stationary elements, although the regular knitting cams and pickers may be the movable elements and the needle cylinder the stationary element without aife'cting the relative operation of the parts.

Secured to the base 0 is a support (Z. The picker arm 6 is pivoted on a horizontal axis in a frame f which in turn is mounted on a vertical pivot g on the support (Z. The tail 6 of the picker arm moves in the V-shaped camway 72 formed in the piece h attached to the rear of support (Z, about the axis 9 as a center. A spring 2' connecting the tail 6 with the support cl keeps the tail upon the camway in the piece h. The end of tail 6 is beveled to conform to camway it, so that normally spring 2' holds the tail in the bottom of the V-shaped camway, in its central and lowest position, and therefore the picker arm 0 in its central and highest position, shown in full lines in the drawings. Frame f has a forwardly extending tongue with a depending toe j, which toe is normally held in central position between the ends of two spring-connected wing-arms is, 70 pivoted on the axis 9. The ends of said wingarms abut upon a central stop at integral with or attached to support d. The active end of picker arm e is of T-shape section,

- the top piece of the T being made wide enough on each side of the upright to cover one or two needle butts as desired. For

instance, as shown in Fig. 1, the flat top of Patented J une 6, 1916.

arm around to the position shown in dotted lines. In this movement the tail 6 is necessarily raised by the cam way 72/, thereby lowering the active end of picker arm e'as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, to deliver the needle butts at the desired lower level. In rotation of the needle cylinder in the opposite direction the picker arm is pushed in a similar manner to the right, the tail 6 rising up the opposite side of cam way It and depressing the active end of the picker arm asbefore. It is thus seen that the arrangement isexactly symmetrical, and that the movement of the picker arm in either direction by the butts, lowers same from the upper level to the lower level, in the direction of rotation of the needle cylinder in a path dictated by the-slope of the camway it.

In the pushing of the picker arm in one direction or the other by the needle butts, frame f and with it tongue j are similarly turned, and toe j opens out one ofthe wingarms against the action. of its spring it". Therefore, when the butts-of the needle or needles being depressed are delivered onto the lower level, the spring actuated wingarm 7s returns frame 7 and with it the picker arm to central position, and as tail 6 is drawn by spring 2' into the-lower part of cam way h, the active end of the picker arm is rai'sed' into' position for being acted upon again by the needle butts in'the upper level.

It is understood that suitable means are provided for rendering the picker inoperative at certain times, such means not being shown herein, as it forms no part of my inventi'on. On the other hand such means acts to depress the picker arm below the level of the upper line of butts and to a point above the level of the lower line of butts, and I have provided a stop as on the support (Z, overhanging the central position of the tail 6 of the picker arm, such that when the picker arm is depressed to inactiveposition as above indicated, said stop will limit the upward movement of tail 6', and therefore insure that the active end of the picker arm shall not be depressed to come within range of the lower line of butts.

While I have herein shown and described a. picker adapted to drop or depress the in}; used only in a relative sense and equivalent of the opposite direction when the device is used as a lifter.

It will also be understood that the pickers I have just described are double-acting and that by substituting a fixed stop for one of the side wings Z1, a single acting picker is formed. Thus in the process of fashioning the heel and toe of a stocking, single acting.

out danger of breakage of the picker or anyof' the needles and without interfering with the proper operation of the picker upon properly positioned needles. 7

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Let ters Patent is:

1.- An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm, a frameon which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis,-a support on which said frame is pivoted-on' a vertical axis, a wing independently pivoted on a vertical axis and adapted to be moved'by the frame when the same is moved on its vertical axis away from its normal position, springs tending to hold and return the arm and wing in their normal positions, and a stationary cam adapted to move the picker arm on its horizontal axis when the same and the frame are moved by a needle on the frames vertical axis.

2. An automatic picker for knitting-mach'ines'comprisinga picker arm adapted to be engaged by and depress a needle traveling 1n either direction, a frame on which said arm ispivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted in an intermediate position on a vertical. axis, wings independently pivoted on a vertical axis and adapted to be moved by the frame when the same is moved in respectively opposite directions from its intermediate position, springs tending to hold the arm in its upper position and the wings in their normal positions, and a stationary cam adapted to move the picker arm on its horizontal axis when said arm and. frame are moved, by a needle traveling in either direction, away from the intermediate position of the frame.

31 An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm adapted to be engaged by and depress a needle traveling in either direction, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a

. support on which said frame is pivoted. in

an intermediate position on a vertical axis, wings independently pivoted on a vertical axis and adapted to be moved by the frame when the same is moved in respectively opposite directions from its intermediate position, a spring connecting the two wings and tending to hold them and the frame in their normal positions, and a stationary cam adapted to move the picker arm on its horizontal axis when said arm and frame are moved, by a needle traveling in either direction, away from the intermediate position of the frame.

4. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted on a vertical axis, a wing independently pivoted on the same vertical axis'in which the frame is pivoted and adapted to be moved by the frame when the same is moved on its vertical axis away from its normal position, springstending to hold and return the arm and wing in their normal positions, and a cam adapted to move the picker arm on its horizontal axis when the same and the frame are moved by a needle on the frames vertical axis.

5. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm adapted to be engaged by and depress a needle traveling in either direction, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted in an intermediate position on a vertical axis, wings independently pivoted on the same vertical axis onwhich the frame is pivoted and adapted to be moved by the frame when the same is moved in respectively opposite directions from its intermediate position,

' springs tending to hold the arm in its upper position and the wings in their normal positions, and a cam adapted to move the picker arm on its horizontal axis when said arm and frame are moved, by a needle traveling in either direction, away from the intermediate position of the frame.

6. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm adapted to be engaged by and depress a needle traveling in either direction, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted in an intermediate position on a vertical axis, wings independently pivoted on the same vertical axis, .a stop between the wings, a tongue on the frame also extending between the wings, springs tending to hold the arm in its upper position and the wings in enthe same is moved on its vertical axis away from its normal position, a stop limiting the return movement of the wing, a spring to return the wing, and thereby also the frame, to their normal positions, and a cam on the support adapted to engage the tail of the arm and move the arm on its horizontal axis during its movement by the needle.

8. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm having a cam-actuated tail and a T-shaped needleengaging head, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted on a vertical axis, a pair of wings independently pivoted on said support on the same vertical axis and adapted to be moved by the frame when the same is moved in respectively opposite directions from its intermediate position, tension means tending to hold said wings in position to hold the frame in its intermediate position, and a cam on the support adapted to engage the tail of the arm and move the arm on its horizontal axis during its movement by the needle.

9. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a picker arm having a cam-actuated tail and a T-sha'ped needleengaging head, a frame on which said arm is pivoted on a horizontal axis, a support on which said frame is pivoted on a vertical axis, a pair of wings independently pivoted on said support on the same vertical axis, a tongue on the frame extending between said wings, a stop on the support extending between said wings, a spring connecting said wings, a ll-shaped cam on the, support adapted to engage the tail 9f the arm and move the arm on its horizontal axis during its movement by the needle, and a spring between the support and the tail of the arm adapted to return the arm to normal position when the same is released by the needle.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, on this 8th day of Sept, 1915.

HARRY A. HOUSEMAN.

copies of thin patent may be obtained for an cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01. 281211, wnhinzton, D. G." 

